The Reckoning
by You're All So Vacant
Summary: What i think is gonna be the last book, how I want it. Gonna be multichaoptered. Eventually chlerek And someone is gonna die...
1. Chapter 1

The Reckoning

Author's notes. Hmmmm finished the awakening and is sooooooo wanting to read the final part to the trilogy that I've decided to write it myself. I'm trying to write it in the style of Kelley Armstrong, and about the same length as the Awakening. (or the Summoning, just pick one.) That means you'll have to excuse any waffle, it will contain spoilers, and I don't own the characters or anything. ( course if you come across a character you haven't heard of, it'll be mine)

Please read and review!

Chapter One/Prologue

When I awoke, I had the strangest sense of home, like I was in the first house I ever lived in, the one with the basement, but the ghosts weren't there. I looked at the clock on the table. 2 AM. Definitely not at home. At home the housekeepers were always yelling that I had to get up and that they weren't supposed to look after me, just whatever condo I lived in at the time.

Then I remembered. Getting shot at, being taken to a lovely homely place by a seemingly nice man named Andrew, Tori's mild complaints at Simon's constant concern about my injuries.

Aunt Lauren! I had seen her in the woods. It didn't matter that sorcerers and witches could do spells o create the illusion of a person being there, or whatever Derek and Simon said, I was the only one who saw her. There was only one type of person I saw that no one else saw, and that was the dead kind. She could be against us and anyone else, but she was still my Aunt, as well as the person I used to trust most in the world. Looking at it, I seemed to trust quite a lot of people whether they trusted me or not, or even liked me.

My head felt heavy, and it was only after my brain was bombarded with all these worries, thoughts and messed up memories that I remembered what had woken me up. It seemed to be a mixture of things, firstly a definite noise of a canine screeching, the banging of a door, and being slightly thirsty.

Having a downstairs bedroom, I only had to walk down a hallway to find the kitchen.

I opened my door, slowly even though it made no noise, and it was pitch black. There could have been a past murderer or even a present murderer in the hallway and I wouldn't have noticed. Telling myself that I only needed the light to find the door, I flicked the switch outside my room. It was so nice being able to do that with Tori on a different floor, unable to tease or complain.

The light was bright. Too bright. I eyes closed of their own accord, forcing me to squint until my eyes adjusted. With my eyes half closed, I could have sworn a figure had moved around the corner, but as soon as I could see properly, it was gone. It must have been my imagination. Ghosts don't just walk past me; I was the only living person they could talk to, and probably the only necromancer they have seen, possibly the only one they ever will.

I turned and walked into the kitchen. It hadn't been my imagination. In the slightly dimmer light of the kitchen and living room combo, I could see a dark tall shape going through the doors into the garden.

Derek.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's notes

I own any ghosts in this chapter but that and the events that happen in this exact story is all I own. Sorry to be repetitive but Derek's werewolf change is gonna be in here somewhere, differently but sort of the same as the one in the book.(The Awakening) Read, enjoy and review!

Chapter Two

My thirst suddenly forgotten, I raced though the doors, not bothering to be quiet. After all, he could hear me no matter how hard I tried to be silent, so what would be the point?

I knew Derek wouldn't have gone far, after the Edison group had turned up earlier (yesterday or today?) he wouldn't want to stay to far from Simon and everyone. Especially since the near disappearance of Andrew who could end up turning to the Edison group at any minute. Not that he wasn't trustworthy-Simon and Derek seemed to trust him completely- but because in the lives we now lived, the only people we could trust were ourselves, at times just barely extending to each other.

Still, last time he had a partial change he had wanted to get as far into the area as possible, though that might have had something to do with the annoying bus driver or other passengers.

While this was going on in my strangely incapable mind, my feet had somehow carried on going, disproving the point that Blondes can't multitask. Then again, having temporarily black hair might have lent me a few extra brain cells.

And my clever feet and found their way to a small clearing only a few meters from where Derek stood. I started to walk forward, positive that he knew I was there. Still, I didn't know whether he was still going to only manage a partial change, or whether it would be a full change, but I was sure that he didn't know either. I decided to alert him of my presence out of politeness, if only because if I didn't he most probably would be really mad at me later. I chose to tell him; I was worried that he might not want help, despite how sincere he sounded last time.

" Derek?" My voice sounded really quietly small, but I knew he heard me.

No reply though. "Derek, it's Chloe. Do you want me to go?" No reply again. I took that as a yes." Sorry. See you." I didn't know why I was apologising but I felt the need to anyway.

I was just turning around to go, when he spoke.

"Chloe? No, Stay. Please." His voice stopped me, even quieter than my own and though strained from pain (changing from human to wolf has to be extremely painful) was broken and childlike. It seemed I was right in assuming that even people like Derek needed to be looked after when they are ill or in pain. That was the only clue he was giving to his immense pain though. At least while he could still say so.

"If you get scared or it gets too bad, leave."

He must have known my reply before I said it though. He has a good memory even if werewolves don't possess psychic abilities.

" You know I wont. I stayed last time, remember?" A grunt in reply. A typical guy thing to do. I figured that it mostly meant yes the exception being when it came with a killer glare.

I walked back over to him, then sat down cautiously on the grass beside him. I didn't want grass stains on the dressing gown provided by Andrew. It wasn't entirely out of politeness. It just wasn't normal to have pyjamas with grass stains on them. It would make people think. He turned, as if to say something, but it got cut off by his yowl- yes it was a yowl rather than a scream – of pain as his body convulsed.

Like last time, I reached up and started rubbing his back, trying to loosen the muscles to make it easier for him. Unlike the last time the movements and the pain seemed to go on for longer without a break, possibly five minutes without any calming, or any signs of a stop. And, it suddenly slowed, like a ripple.

"Derek, it's ok. It seems worse than last time, but its still probably easing you into the whole routine. After all, it has to get worse before it gets better, right?" I didn't really expect a reply when a slightly raspy version of Derek's voice replied.

"Chloe, if I finish the change, run. I don't want to hurt anyone if I can help it; especially if they are as-" Another wave cut him off.

"Derek, if I can still stay here, I will. But I promise that if I can I'm going to get hurt, I'll go." Just for his peace of mind. We both knew I wouldn't really go.

He then rolled back, his screech sounding almost like a growl. His eyes locked with mine, terrified.

The person in front of me wasn't human. It was a wolf.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's notes

Turns out I didn't put any ghosts in the last chapter as I felt I was rambling on a bit. There is definitely gonna be a weird being of some kind in this chapter though, and it is MINE!! And this chapter is kinda looong. Anyways, thanks for all reviews, and read this next bit. And review. Again if you already have. I like reviews. Particularly CRITICAL ones. Y'know, things you think are going to happen, things you want to happen, things I'm doing badly and how to improve it ect. If you don't review I'll be sad. And you don't want me to be sad 'cause I'll put you in the book, AND kill you off. Horrifically. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

I sat there, unblinking as Derek stared down at me, and as I noticed my fear magnified in his own horrified eyes, it disappeared. I couldn't be remotely concerned for my own life when I was just the spectator and the only person to be afraid of was stunned beyond belief, scared of himself, of what had just happened to him.

I reached over and scratched behind his ear, then noticed what I was doing and stopped. I was close to positive that though the movement was meant to be soothing, he wouldn't want to be treated like a dog. Clearly I was wrong. He looked at me, then moved his head to my hand shaking it slightly. I smiled at him and resumed scratching his head, slowly trying to be comforting.

Though I knew it was still Derek, and I'd seen the process myself, it was hard to remember that I couldn't exactly pet him the way I would a dog. After all, he would probably get slightly pissed if I went a scratched his belly, or threw a stick. I then imagined the human Derek running to lay fetch, and it was so uncharacteristic for him that I laughed. Derek cocked his head to the side, as if to say 'What's so funny?' but there was no way I was telling him. It would be like asking to be buried alive.

"It's nothing, Derek. I'm just proving I'm clinically insane." And I was. Just to except that you're a necromancer had to give you insanity points. He glared as if to say, ' I know you're lying.' From all of his silence, I guessed that werewolves couldn't actually talk in wolf form. How stupid of me. I'd had an assumption that, like in movie, werewolves could talk normally, and that they just looked like wolves, they didn't actually turn into them. Well, Derek had certainly proved me wrong and I was shamefully slow to notice. Not that he was _trying_ to. He didn't even know my assumptions as there was usually more important things to discuss. Such as how to actually survive. Something that we were both having to learn and that Derek was automatically better at, though I didn't think I was doing too bad, but yeah, I practically owed him my life.

We sat there for a while, me wondering why he wasn't changing back to human. Was it because he couldn't? or was it just modesty? After all, his shorts had gotten kind of shredded in his change, and scraps of fabric were scattered around us.

"Derek, do you want me to turn away or something so you can change back?" He made a sound that was suspiciously like a snort. I looked at him, but when he looked up his eyes looked _wolf like_. Hungary.

"Derek. Derek, are you ok?" The only thing I could do was talk, as moving would feel like abandoning him, and I didn't want to worry him in that state.

As I stared at him, his eyes calmed, the hunger fading so slowly that I only noticed when it was completely gone.

Then the eyes looked at me, pleadingly, though I didn't know why, before his body shimmered back to human, seemingly painlessly. Strange. The last time it had seemed equally painful in reverse as it had to start the change. He gave me a relieved look, then collapsed on the floor, instantly asleep. Like the last time, I didn't want him to get cold so I picked up his surviving clothes and managed to carefully wrap his dressing gown around him.

Unlike last time, I was too tired to stay awake, so I closed my eyes and I must have instantly fallen asleep as I awoke to hear Derek sobbing, not something that I would ever picture him doing, unless-.

"Derek what's wrong? Has something happened? To Andrew or Simon? What about Tori?" I was babbling. My mouth closed with an audible snap. I was playing scenes from films in my head, picturing Tori or Simon in the main characters place, and felt sick. I was about to ask again when Derek spoke, enunciating carefully, slowly, like he had a speech impediment like my own.

"Chloe. Have you any idea what happened last night? Or should I say this morning." His head as buried in his hands, voice thick with something I couldn't identify. Horror? Concern? I couldn't tell.

"Umm, yes? Y-Y-you changed into a wolf." It sounded like a question and I felt stupid, but that was all I could say. After all he was the one who experienced it.

With his knuckles kneading his forehead, he mumbled a response.

" I wanted to kill you." I wasn't sure I'd heard him right. "I'm sorry, what?" I kept my tone light to soften the words. He heard it though. I could tell. His eyes flashed dark, and he momentarily froze, clearly thinking of what he was going to say next.

"Chloe, I wanted to kill you. I took one look at you and instantly thought of you as prey. Like a fox or a rabbit. I wanted to kill you. I wanted to _eat_ you." The sentences were broken, the actual words coming out in a rush.

I was stunned, but by his honesty rather than what he said, as he possibly assumed. He took my silence the wrong way though, and his self-horrified sobbing increased in volume. Rapidly. I'd never seen him in such a shocking state. It was usually me sitting there crying. I inched closer to him and put my arms around his large shoulders in comfort.

Then I recalled my memory of what had happened. Exactly. It was cheering to know that there was _something_ I could say to remind him that he _wasn't_ a killer monster.

" But, you didn't. You didn't even try to kill me. Not even close, remember. All you did was look at me, no attacking, no snarling no nothing. Remember Derek?"

When he looked up though, he didn't look at all reassured. Incredulous, though, to say the least, and it was showing rather plainly on his face. He was still able to form words though, an achievement for the look of him.

" I remember wanting to kill you. I remember seeing you look at me, completely fearless, I even remember you reminding me who I was. But most of all I remember the agonizing pain when I realised I could kill you or anyone else in the blink of an eye."

Hearing that made me want to cry. Derek doesn't really care about himself. He cares about everyone else. That's what made the whole situation seem so much more of a punishment for him, made it seem so unfair for him to have this curse, even though it wasn't phrased that way.

"But, you didn't." I felt like a stuck record, but I felt he needed to acknowledge this fact. " Derek, I didn't do anything, you did it all on your own. Doesn't that show you how strong you are? That you could kill if you have to, that you can become a predator, but you still wont harm anyone who poses no threat?

"Chloe, you did a lot. How can you not recognise that?" He looked down, fiddling with a piece of grass, then continued, quieter. "And, thank you. For coming to begin with. And for staying. I wouldn't have blamed you for leaving."

"I know. I thought you might have needed the company, despite what you said about leaving." He turned slightly, and gave me a quick hug, again saying 'thank you'. God, I didn't sound like a stuck record compared to him. It was nice to know I could be helpful rather than just the constant hindrance, though.

And, just as we seem to be getting along perfectly, no longer running-at least for a few days- and the Edison group are nowhere in sight, I ruin everything.

Still with my arm round Derek, something happened. I felt really strange, then the wind blew and in a rather movie-style manner, something appeared through a thick mist that seemed to originate from nowhere in particular. Oh, great. And from the mist appeared a person. Or was it ghost? I stepped away from Derek, towards the shape. Not the cleverest of things to do, but who says anyone is smart? I looked back at Derek, who was looking shocked, but I couldn't tell whether he could see it or not.

"Chloe. Come here." He seemed confused. Matching his confusion I walked back over to him. He gripped my arm, then gasped.

"Derek, what's wrong?"

"There's something there. But I can only see it when I have contact with you."

That was strange.

"Ok, we'll figure that out later. Shall we see what it wants?"

We walked back to the figure, hands joined together.

"I work for Andrew. He sent a message. He said this is all you need to know until you get back to the house. It's Simon."

Derek's pained scream deafened me as it echoed through the forest, shattering through the trees.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes.

This chapter took forever; I simply had too many options for what could happen. It also isn't as long as chapter 3- it's about the length of chapter two, maybe a bit longer. Yeah. At this point Chloe and Derek might be acting slightly uncharacteristic as I wanted to show just how much the situation was affecting them. And I've looked back on the crappy proofreading, and my sister is going to proofread from now on. Thanks, sis!

Chapter four

Not waiting to see if there was another part to the message, or to even stop to see if it was real, Derek broke into a run, pulling me behind him. I wanted to tell him to stop and analyse the situation properly, the way he normally would, but I knew he wouldn't listen. Not that he was a bad listener. Despite what he said before about being a bad listener, he was generally silent when someone else was talking to him, the exception being when it concerned Simon.

After about 500 yards, he seemed to decide that I was too slow for his liking, because he picked me up as if I was a bag of sugar, mid-stride. It didn't slow him down, not one jolt. If anything, he increased in speed. In less than 5 minutes we were outside the house, him setting me on my feet, making sure that I was steady before striding through the front door, not even checking if anything or anyone had been near the house before entering. I followed him into the house, and the door slammed shut of its own accord.

Nearly running into him, one quick glance was all I needed to see. To prove that the figure was right, that is. Something was definitely wrong. There was paper strewn all over the floor, drawers upended onto the sofa, curtains ripped in the waste paper bin, a smashed T.V and... Blood. Covering the left corner of the room near the door to the hallway. Well, I thought it was blood. It seemed a safer bet than red paint. I looked at Derek. Surely he could tell whose blood it was. And it was quite clear that he could. But his reaction wasn't what I expected. I thought he would be sobbing like before, rather than angry. However, this wasn't the case as the first thing he said was "That bitch." It was the first time I had heard him say that particular word, and though I didn't want to anger him further, I had to ask who he was talking about; I felt clueless without the information that he had.

"Uh, Derek, who are you talking about? What's going on?" He turned to face me directly, causing me to flinch unnecessarily, afraid that he'd turn his anger on me. An irrational fear, to say the least.

"I'm talking about your best bud, Tori." That wasn't at all what I was expecting. His words were short and clipped, his voice harsh. Was he angry at me, at her, or whoever must have been here? I didn't know he cared that much about her. He certainly didn't show it.

"What did Tori do, Derek? What happened? Has she been hurt? Kidnapped? Run to tell her mum everything?" The possibilities were endless.

"Hurt?" He snorted. Loudly. "It's more like, she's been inflicting the damage." I let out a shocked breath. "You gonna explain that?" He didn't even wait until I'd finished speaking to clip out a snap of a reply. "She knew her magic was stronger than Simon's. I can smell both of their scents right here, with his blood and energy zapping around from spells. She probably got insulted by something he said, decided to get him back, overdid it, and *zap*, he's dead and she goes to hide the body. That fucking bitch. I knew we should have ditched her. Right from the bloody start." Though Derek is often right, I didn't think that his theory was very plausible. I thought he needed to think it through before freaking out, or going on a Tori hunt.

"Derek, calm down. Think it through properly. They haven't tried to kill each other ever, not even close.

Don't you think we'd better review the situation, consider all the possibilities?" He turned, glared at me, his face freezing into a set scowl.

"Think of one other theory." I was about to say 'easily', then thought better of it. It wasn't exactly what Derek needed to hear.

"Okay." I pretended t think it through, though it come up with something almost immediately after Derek first said, 'that bitch'. "How about, the Edison group came after them, they fought against them, Simon got injured so they backed off and escaped." As I said this, I watched Derek, I saw him consider it and his face unfroze.

"That does seem rather likely. Good theory, Chloe. But that means that Simon is out there somewhere, injured, with only Tori to help him. She might not be the murdering bitch I thought she was, but she still isn't the best of company."

I wished he would stop being so mean about Tori. She was just a troubled teenager like the rest of us, with a mom from hell. "But Derek, you have to put up with me. So in a way, you and Simon both have to put up with someone. Just Tori is louder than me. And less skittish." I then thought of all the times Derek had to come save me. "And she doesn't need looking after as much."

"Yeah, but Chloe. You don't complain about anything and everything, if you annoy me I can just stand behind you and say boo, and you help me too. A few hours ago, you were the only person who noticed I was gone, and went to help me. I'm very grateful

For that. You risked your life to help me, and I nearly killed you. Thanks, by the way. But the only problem now is that we don't know what actually happened, so we don't know what we're walking into.

The mysterious figure must have been standing behind us, because his voice piped up. "I know what happened." I quickly said this back to Derek, who didn't hear it. Derek threaded his fingers through mine, and I motioned for the figure to continue.

"The Edison group came here. They started fighting. After Simon got injured, Tori stood in front of him and started defending both of them. Andrew didn't want them to get hurt further, and he rejoined the group. He told me to find you guys first, though. He didn't want them to die here, and he didn't want to hurt any of you. I think he did it to save Simon." I couldn't believe the nonchalant way that the ghost said it. Like he was telling me what was on T.V yesterday. But there was something that was bothering me. "How can Andrew see you?"

And the figure replied, "I am Ashes. Created from the actual ashes of his brother, Simon's real father. Both of you were adopted, Derek. Andrew can see me because, he was a former Edison group project. He is a necromancer, like you, Chloe."

Well that certainly left a lot to consider.

Dundundun! :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Anyone wanna predict what's gonna happen next?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Author's notes

A more proofread chapter. Should have less annoying errors. I thought anyone who's reading it should know that since I have to write a story for English, do a whole thing for history and geog and everything, updates should be every three days or so. Maybe two, but never four. Apparently fanfics lack to imagination of a regular fic, so I can't even hand this in. Oh well. I like writing this. XD soooo that's about all of my rambling for now. Read it!

Chapter 5

Wow, the way the guy talked and what he actually said had absolutely no correlation whatsoever. And yet again, I didn't think I had the relevant details for the situation. Clearly, I wasn't alone in this, for Derek started shooting questions before I had even opened my mouth.

"Simon's real father? A necromancer? Is that even possible? Why would he join the Edison group if he was a victim?" Derek really should have gone for a career in reporting. He was shooting the questions at top-notch speed. I was rather impressed.

Clearly Ashes agreed, as amusement played on his face though his tone of voice implied that Derek was acting like a child, impatient and not understanding or even comprehending what he was being told.

"**Derek, I know you're concerned and this seems like an overdose of information, but please listen. And I can only answer one question at a time, since I only have one head. Would you like to wait till we've found Simon? He should know this too and it's a very long story. God, I sound old. It's a long story. That's what my grandpa always said. I could tell you on the way, and then talk to Simon when we get there." He eyed our locked hands. "Looks like I'm going to have to talk to him anyway, with Andrew's help. Like Chloe helping you talk to me, Derek. So, guys, do you want to hear it now, or on the way, or with Simon when we find him?" Derek looked at me, torn between finding out more of the past of Simon, his brother, and going to find said brother. I knew what his only option was, and said it for him.** "**I think it would be best if we heard it on the way. Yeah, Derek?" I knew he agreed with me, but it felt impolite otherwise.**

"Ummm yeah. So, where does the story start?" His voice was impatient, like a toddler with fairytales at story time. The impatient, _nice_, friendly version of Derek was certainly not the Derek I had met at Lyle house. Now we were out of the place, it was very obvious that having himself and more importantly Simon in there had had a huge affect on his behaviour. Or maybe it just seemed like that because I wasn't willing to listen to the 'truly crazy' kids.

Ashes smiled. "Do you want to pick up a trail first, Derek? So you can concentrate more on the story when we start?" Derek started to walk around the room, pulling me with him. He sniffed one part of the carpet a few times then walked to a side door.

"Ok, I've found them." He called out to Ashes. Then to me, "Chloe, to find them as fast as possible, I'm going to carry you. That's ok with you, right?"

Why wouldn't I be ok with it? The werewolf was currently holding hands with me, so it didn't really make much difference. "That's fine. But-" I was new to this, I didn't know everything about ghosts.

"But what?" He sounded genuinely concerned. "Ashes, how fast can you run, or float, or whatever?" I stopped, about to apologise as it sounded kinda rude, but he smiled. A little annoyingly smugly, actually.

"How about this. Is this fast enough for you?" He literally vanished, then reappeared on the other side of the room. "Woh, that is definitely fast enough." Even Derek looked impressed.

"Umm, yeah. I think that might be a little _too_ fast, though. We actually _want _to hear your story." Derek snorted. I looked up to see him smirking. "You don't think I can run that fast?" A little competition seemed to have cheered him up a smidge.

In one smooth movement, he scooped me up so he cradled me like a child, and darted straight round the room. I felt like I'd left my stomach behind. And it clearly showed on my face, as he looked uncharacteristically cocky, as he said: "Clearly not. I think I could be faster." Then he looked at my face. "You okay? You look a little green."

"I'm fine. Just left my stomach over there somewhere." I said, pointing at the place where we started. Ashes laughed. It was at me, I was sure. "Start moving, and I'll start talking." Derek didn't respond, just started running. Fast. And Ashes kept up with ease, though after his demonstration there was only a tiny amount of doubt that he wouldn't.

"Okay, I'll start from when we were kids, me only about 7. Our mom dragged us to the hospital for a 'check-up'. Andrew wanted to go, being a total momma's boy. I was already more reluctant, but not for fear of a supernatural, mutating group. I was scared of needles, pain and dying in a hospital. But mom dragged me anyway. When we got there, after horrendous traffic, ticking away like a clock, making me think I wouldn't actually be able to go, and a crash of a car further along the road, he got to the hospital. But we didn't actually have to go inside. As soon as we stepped out of the car, two or three doctors approached us. I hid behind mom, Andrew doing the exact same. But she pulled us away from her, a bag goes over our heads. I scream, Andrew crying loudly, being younger than me, and a dull thud hits us. Next thing I know is we are awake in an unfamiliar room, and a man is staring at us. Smiling actually, but I didn't want to acknowledge his kind face. I recognised it exactly. It was one of the doctors from before." Ashes paused, and I couldn't help but imagine the two children being taken from their mother, dragged to an unfamiliar place. The scene was horrible, and I shuddered, dragging Derek from his own thoughts.

"You okay?"

"Umm yeah, you don't look fine though. What's up?"

"Just considering something. Ashes, did Andrew ever have any children?"

Ashes looked at him, weirdly, then his eyes widened in shock.

"Yes, he had a daughter, a little over a year after you were born."

They both looked at me, and Ashes gasped. I didn't understand, but I knew they would have to explain.

Authors notes again.

Yes there is a sudden change of subject at the end, but it is intentional. Will be gone back to in the next chapter


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"What on earth? I don't understand." And I didn't. Andrew looked nothing like my father. I should know. Derek might have caught a glimpse of him when I had come to Lyle house, and I knew Ashes had never met him formally- being dead and all.

Derek seemed to know what I was thinking. "Uh, Chloe, most of the subjects somehow got separated from their real parents, Tori being one of few exceptions to this rule. What we think is possible is that your biological father is actually Andrew, and that the man you think is your dad is actually just someone who accidentally got caught up in the experiment." Way to put it simply.

"What? But how would he get caught in it? He was married to my mom. He wouldn't allow her to do that! I know he wouldn't. That's not..." 'That's not possible' was a stupid thing to say when you could accept that there was such things as supernaturals, that you raised the dead, that you watched a guy turn into a wolf, watched two or three people cast spells to harm others.

Ashes wasn't as outright as Derek. He didn't say everything so loudly, and he acted like you was reluctant to tell me.

"I think what Derek was trying to say is that your mother took part, allowing the man you call Dad to think that you were actually his child. Sad, I guess, but I can't imagine him understanding the situation and still looking after you as his own, or staying with your mother, till the end. Dramatic and all that, but it isn't probable that he would." I waited for some part of me to be tearing up for this, but I felt a little hollow, with just a tiny part of me slightly disappointed and even a little angry, but mainly I was numb and confused. And though the idea of Andrew as a father made me rather curious, I wanted to know the rest of the story, know what made Ashes assume this, and try to catch on to what had given the idea to Derek, despite the necromancer part.

"Can you go back to the story? I wanna know what happens next."

"Sure. I'm guessing you want to know what on earth this actually has to do with your parentage, and I think Derek's a little caught up in the story as well."Ashes smiled at Derek, who gave him a look that clearly said, 'continue'. "Right, where was I? Oh yeah. A nice nurse explained to us that we were there to 'run through a couple of procedures'. We got separated, well they attempted to. Andrew cried, and I did too, screaming that I wasn't going anywhere without him. They agreed, clearly not knowing how to properly deal with children, rather than just examining them then giving them what they wanted."

"Still the same." Derek rumbled. Then he turned sharply, making me bounce to the side slightly, and forcing Ashes to have to appear on the other side. Slowing slightly, Derek muttered sorry, and rubbed my arm where he had hit it.

"True. The Edison group don't really like actually _learning_ from experiments, as they put it. They can do the same thing over and over again and still not find a pattern. With powers and childcare. I think they just enjoy the feeling of mutating something.

Anyway, they didn't do anything to Andrew. Just monitored him and his powers. You see, male necromancers are very difficult to come by, only about 7 ever in existence. Normally through a recessive gene. 6 out of the 7 times anyway. Andrews was passed down hereditarily, through mother to daughter, him being an exception. He was the most powerful necromancer they had ever seen, and they probably thought that necromancers couldn't get any more powerful than that. Until they met you, Chloe. Blasted right off the scale. Waking up animals through sub-consciousness, bringing spirits to bodies involuntarily, seeing them so well that they appear as people. Mainly the same as Andrew, though your powers came on a lot more suddenly than his." He stopped and I couldn't help but think how obvious a relation between Andrew and me would seem to them. And typically, the first thing that came to mind was that I would be Simon's cousin.

"And though we are brothers, we don't have the same powers. His are unusual, and mine were given to me by the Edison group, hoping to create a hybrid without me even having a power to begin with. It wasn't very well thought through. It was quite a good plan though, after Edison's telephone to the dead. See if a necromancer and sorcerer hybrid can cast spells on ghosts, on their bodies as well, maybe find a way to bring them back to life. Or even interrogate a murder victim to find out who killed them. It would make a lot of things simpler."

"Oh. What did they do? To give you the powers?" Derek was the one to answer, though the question was rather obviously pointed at Derek.

"They extract DNA from another subject of that supernatural race, preferably the strongest they can find, and edit the formulae extracted before putting it into the bloodstream of the other subject. Not nice, and if entered incorrectly, or if it isn't properly compatible with the blood, organs, ect., it can go wrong and cause what they would call a 'system malfunction'. Basically the body rejects it, and you die. That makes you very lucky, Ashes."

He smiled."I know. It was clearly a success, as Simon is fine and using the powers with a strength I didn't think you could get from hereditary ruining of the genes. I was worried that the power would harm him, or he would be 'terminated' because of the lack of powers."

"You care about him a lot." I noted. "You know, I think he is gonna figure out about you soon, whether you tell him or not." Then something else occurred to me. "Derek, is that why you are so good academically? I know you're smart already, but did you try, so you could learn more about the mutations and the projects?"

Derek looked at me, kinda strangely, like he was thinking, 'you were paying that much attention to me, rather than the actual story'?

"Yes, Chloe. That's how I knew about everyone, except Liz, that is. Her chemical makeup is a mystery to me. This brings me back to you, by the way. You DNA is almost identical to Andrew's, it just didn't occur to me at the time."

"Okay, I have somehow accepted that I'm related to him. And I'm sorry, Derek." He looked rather confused.

"Ummm, for what? I should be apologising for dragging on this hunt for Simon, nearly killing you, you almost getting shot, attacked by a girl with a knife and nearly being eaten by a random group of wolves. I haven't looked after you very well, have I?"

"You weren't _meant _to look after me. No one is meant to. Except me. And I don't mind looking for Simon, this is interesting. You weren't really close to killing me, you just scared yourself, the knife was my fault for running off, and the wolves was the wolves fault. They were just looking for a fight." I lowered my tone slightly, hoping Ashes wouldn't try to interpret my apology as something it wasn't.

"I'm sorry, I've been so harsh to you. Acting foolishly, blaming you. And... for not liking you when I first came to Lyle. I just didn't want to listen. Strange, since you are kindest, most selfless person I've ever met. Thank you, for looking after me. And keeping me with you. If I was you I would ditched me a long time ago. After all, as Tori always says, I'm a helpless blonde who always needs rescuing." I yawned, like the talking had worn me out, even though Derek was doing all the work; I was just kinda lying there.

To my utter surprise, Derek, smiled softly, and kissed my forehead. Never pictured that. "It's quite alright, Chloe. You know I like thinking, I can actually look after people rather than killing them. And I don't expect thanks for it. We're about half a mile from Simon, Tori, and Andrew now. You can go to sleep. I'll wake you up later, so you can talk to your father." I just looked at him, thinking that this version of Derek seemed to suit him better than the grouchy one. I was more used to the grouchy one though. "I won't let you get eaten or anything, honest."

I smiled."I know." I squeezed his hand, closed my eyes, mumbled something incoherent, and promptly fell asleep.

Author's notes.

Late chapter, and a not to interesting one, though not to boring, I hope. Explaining stuff. No more explaining really needed from now on. Fluffy chapter with a little rivalry next.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I awoke to a large cacophony of noise that seemed to be protruding from Simon and Derek.

"Simon, she needs sleep. Leave her alone. You can flirt later."

"C'mon bro, why are you so grouchy? She won't mind talking to me."

"She probably will, she's just too nice to say anything".

I blinked, trying to get dust from my eyes, and this tiny movement caught Dereks' attention. He turned to look down at me, somehow still cradled in his arms.

"Morning". He smiled, and I couldn't help but smile back. "I'm sorry, did we wake you up?"

"You said you would, remember? To talk to Andrew, and Simon." I turned my gaze to Simon.

"Have you been filled in?"

"No. Even with Andrew there, I can't see _Ashes._ Does this guy actually exist, Chloe? Or is Derek making it up?" Simon seemed really frustrated. It was understandable though, since everyone but him and maybe Tori could see him, and being in a minority group with her? Not fun.

"It didn't work? How come? Yes, he exists. You really need to talk to him." I turned my gaze back to Derek.

"I would've thought that you would've explained. Then again, you're probably too tired. Due to the fact that you're still holding onto me, I'm guessing you didn't sleep. Why didn't you sleep? Everyone needs sleep, including the almighty Derek." He smiled again. I was babbling, my brain still cloudy with sleep. It seemed to amuse him.

"You were talking in your sleep. It was too interesting for me to ignore. I felt like being noisy. And I didn't want to put you down, I wouldn't be able to talk to Ashes, and I thought moving you would wake you up."

"Ohmygod, what did I say?" I could feel my face going red, though I had no idea why.

"Well, clearly you have a boyfriend or something, because you kept muttering, 'I love you'. Care to share with us?" Simon sounded smug, like when you pass on a rumour at school. I immediately thought that he guessed it was him. I didn't know who it was though. No actually, I had a feeling that I did...

"Okay, I don't know. I do imagine fictional people, though. But, don't we have more important things to discuss? Such as why we can't get Simon to see Ashes?"

"True. Simon, come here. Chloe, give him your hand. Simon, look in the corner of the room." Simon gasped.

"I take it you can see him, then."

"Ummm, yeah. That is so weird. Ummm hi. Ashes, isn't it?"

"Now Andrew, can you take Simons hand from Chloe?"

Andrew did, and Simon stared at the corner.

"I can still see him."

"Simon, we need to talk. Do mind talking to me and Andrew?" Ashes spoke up.

"Course not."

Andrew led himself, Simon, and Ashes to the room down the hall.

As soon as they were out of sight, Derek burst out laughing. "What's so funny?"

He smiled at me."What, you didn't notice? Poor Simon. He doesn't have my hearing. He thinks you were talking about him." Okay, his certainty was getting on my nerves. He had reason to be smug, but that wasn't the point.

"How do you know I wasn't talking about him?" I said it jokingly, but still got a reaction. A happy one though. Dereks' face softened, and he looked at me seriously, the smile gone but an ecstatic spark glinting in his eyes.

"I heard you before you fell to sleep. Werewolf hearing, remember?"

I recalled mumbling something, but I couldn't remember what it was. I wasn't even sure that I knew what it was to begin with.

Derek, looked at the floor, appearing unusually shy and red faced. "You said you loved me." Then I remember, not the actually saying of it, but thinking it as he kissed my forehead. It must have slipped out in my subconciousness, but it was true. Derek was right. It was him, and I did love him.

And he must have seen the comprehension in my face through his spherical vision, because he turned his head to lock his eyes with mine. And his gaze swept me up, made my brain collapse. And I blurted, "Derek, I love you." Before clamping my hand over my mouth in the typically girly fashion, and going beetroot as my gaze slowly fell to the floor.

Then I felt a hand under my chin, gently tilting my head up. And again I got lost in his eyes, as he murmured, "You know I love you too." Before pressing his lips gently to mine. And everything else flew out the window. Quite literally vanished. It was just me and him, like we were drowning in our own world, invisible to anyone else. Until, a shattering of glass made us spring apart. Simon was standing there, frozen in shock, a tray with plates on- the ones from their breakfast- shattered on the floor, showering the room in shards of ice-like crystal, glass, and porcelain.

"Simon" The sound if Dereks' voice seemed to make him unfreeze, and break into a sprint. And I had no desire to stop him, to tell him nothing happened. Because something had. I loved his brother, and as Derek had just told me, he loved me too. And I didn't even care what anyone else thought.

But I did think that Derek and Simon shouldn't argue. Ever. "Maybe we should talk to him." Silence. Then a soft response. "Let him calm down. Leave for about an hour, and he'll stop and think properly. At least long enough to not blast us with a spell. Being dead won't help the explanation."

"But he's your brother, Derek. He wouldn't blast you, just me."

"Yes, but I love you. And I won't let him curse you. Besides, as you said, he is my brother. He'll understand. We just need to let him cool off a bit." As usual, Dereks' suggestion made more sense.

"Okay, then. If you think that's best." He laughed.

"You don't need to act like an obedient puppy, y'know? I prefer it when you disagree. You can somehow manage it without sounding like Tori." I smiled, then noticed Andrew in the corridor. Derek followed my gaze. "You need to talk to him, Chloe."

"You'll stay here, right?" He griped my hand.

"If you want me to. Why wouldn't I?" Then he spoke up, making sure Andrew could hear him. "Andrew, can we talk to you for a bit?"

"'course. What d'you want?" He walked into the room, and Derek set my on my feet, still griping my hand.

"We wanted to talk to you about the Edison group projects."

"Oh. Okay. Ummm, Chloe, could I see your pendent?" That wasn't exactly the conversation opener I was expecting. Curious to why he would want it, I lifted my hand to unfasten the ribbon that now held the pendant, but Dereks' hand got in the way. He lifted both hands and took off the necklace, with no damage to it (unlike the last time) and handed it to Andrew. He stared at it, then turned it around, as if looking for markings of some kind. "You're my daughter." He said in amazement.

"That's what Ashes said." My voice was quiet, and I looked at Derek rather than Andrew. When I looked back, Andrew was holding a small black photograph book, and was shaking out the line of pictures.

"I can't believe I didn't even recognise you. My own kid. Then again, your hair does change your appearance quite considerably." He showed us the pictures, 15 of them. One for every year of my life, the last one of me at Lyle, with Derek saving me from Toris' murder plan. They had taken a picture? Must have been from a hidden camera of something. Not that hidden cameras were particularly unexpected in that place.

"You're my father." Feeling a little bewildered, my thoughts escaped my mouth.

"Yes, Chloe. It seems weird to me, too. Particularly when I see you and Derek together. I missed you. It seems strange when I hardly know you, but it did. I wanted my child to look after, so I compensated by pretending a nephew, Simon, and Derek were my sons. It seems so strange now. You come in with Derek and Simon throws a tantrum to see you together." He shook his head, smiling.

It was confounding. Theoretically, it was easy to wrap my head around, but in actually fact, to have it confirmed, it wasn't easy to comprehend.

But I was quickly distracted by a voice floating from the doorway. It was becoming a pattern, that if someone had some news, or everything was brilliant, doom would come from whoever was standing in the doorway.

"I'm sorry, Chloe. I can't believe I told them. Derek, I couldn't do anything. You know I would of if I could. It was an accident." Again, it came from Simon.

Andrew took control. I was frozen and confused, and I could feel Derek behind me shaking. "What is it, Simon?"

"The Edison group. They know we're here."

Author's notes.

Umm yeah. Finished the chapter. It was waffling in some places though. Next chapter will probably be up in about a week; since I don't really know what I'm gonna write next.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

We were running. Well, Derek was running, me carried on his back like a bag or a sack of potatoes. We had split up from the others in an attempt to confuse Marcel Davidoff and the Lyle crew. Simon ended up going in a rental car with Tori and Andrew. Ashes was quite literally stalking the Edison group, looking for information. Not that this was all optional, though. Andrew wanted us all to take the car, saying that we were on equal footing as the group if we had the same transport. We couldn't take his car. Surely my aunt or Dr Davidoff would have got the plate number. And Andrew had asked Ashes had been asked to tail the evil scientist crew; as Tori had so helpfully named them. Derek wanted us to split up-surely the group were looking for a certain amount of people in the back of the car, none of us kids being able to drive (Derek could but being in Lyle stopped him from getting a licence) and then we had more chance of survival. If one party got caught, the other one could come to its' rescue.

Derek could run the speed of a car, maybe more. So he had taken it upon himself to spare me running- or walking. One good thing was coming out of this disaster though. Not having to do anything, and I mean _anything _, I had plenty of time to reflect on the past few days, and I noticed that as soon as panic went around, Simon was no longer mad at me or Derek, and tori stopped being a bitch and was actually helping plan what to do rather than filing her nails.

But I never found out how or why Simon told the group, after all it hurt his own safety just as much as the rest of ours. Besides, Simon wasn't stupid or petty. He didn't do the 'cutting off your nose to spite your face' thing. Not his style. So why would he tell them?

"Maybe he didn't. Maybe it was an accident. It could have been temporary insanity." I hadn't realised I had been speaking out loud until I found Dereks' reply.

He was so hopeful, his voice stronger on any suggestion that would prove Simon innocent as a traitor. He wanted to trust his brother so completely that it brought tears to my eyes. I kissed his neck and mumbled my reply so he would miss the uncertainty. "maybe." I realised straight after that his brilliant hearing would expose my lack of faith, and waited silently for his defence.

It didn't come.

"Derek?"

He slowed to a stop, pulling me from his back into his arms.

"Chloe, I know I should defend him. But if the Edison group get within 10 meters of you, I am going to personally hold him responsibility. We both know he has jeopardized our safety, and I want you to be safe. I'm not even angry at him. I'm upset. And scared. Upset that he would do this to you, to us and scared that one time the Edison crew will go too far, and I'll never hear your voice again."

I didn't let him continue. Derek worried to much about others and not enough about himself. It was definitely time someone actually went and told him to stay safe, to stay alive, to stop and think about himself.

"Derek, you need to stop worrying about me. You need to stop to take care of yourself. Remember when I asked if you had a death wish? Well, it's time to ask again. Do you actually give a shit about your own life? Because if you don't, I still do, and if you die, I will actually kill myself. You need to look after you before you look after me. You got that? And you either defend Simon, or you don't. I don't care. He's your brother, not mine. I don't have to pretend to cover his mistakes. You don't either, you know. He isn't your responsibility, he's your friend. It would do him good to get his own way out of a situation."

He sighed, and broke into a grin, looking suspiciously close to laughing.

"I guess I have to look after me. I can't help you if I can't help myself. And Chloe? You are _never _going to commit suicide. I'll stop it from the other side of the grave. If I died, you would still see me, right? And you would save Simon from the world, right."

"Right to the first. Second depends on what he does."

Derek started running again, leaving me in his arms, though it must have been harder to carry me like that rather than on his back. He ran for what must have been miles, through fields and farms, along country lanes or little towns, the way you flip through town, cities and country houses in films. Like the fast forward button was being held down.

Then he stopped, not a slow graceful stop like the last, but a sudden jolt like when you stamp a brake too hard.

"Chloe, I'm sorry. I've never been so sorry." He choked on his words, tears gently falling from his eyes.

"Derek, what is it? Why are you crying? What happened?"

"Derek, what is it? Why are you crying? What happened?"

He kissed me softly, leaving his cheek next to mine. "Darling, I can smell them, I can hear them. I can even see them. The Edison group. We haven't got a hope, we're boxed in. They've caught us."

"Derek, I love you."

"As I love you. Chloe, I would tell you to run, but your aunt's here. She's our only hope. I'm a failure. I'm so sorry."

BANG! The sound off a rifle slicing through a very small amount of space. Deafening.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's notes

Yes, this has taken me forever to update, exam options made that happen. Sorry for the lateness of it, but it really couldn't be helped. Hope you enjoy it anyhow. R+R pleaz, as always

CHAPTER 9

Three seconds later and I found myself on the ground; too shocked to feel anything, though I was sure I should have, for Derek promptly dropped to his knees, tears rolling down his face, almost as shocked as I was. But I could see him, and he wasn't hurt, and that was what mattered.

That was the moment that I knew why the events of the last few days had happened, why we were both still alive. I realised then that the only reason that I had believed in Dereks' love was that it matched my own so perfectly; the fact that both of us would die for the other. He had saved my life so many times, and at that moment I didn't care that a bullet was stuck in my shoulder, or that a bunch of people wanted to kill us, because I had finally paid him back, finally saved him, too. Maybe I didn't really believe, I just didn't want to argue with the hope that I had earned his love and respect, that I just couldn't stand to lose someone else I cared about, even if I didn't really have them anyway.

Then the pain kicked in. Not the wound, the bullet that had lashed into my already scarred shoulder, but the fact that we could now see the Edison group. Very clearly. And I could also see who held the gun.

Derek leapt, the pain on his face quickly materialising into anger. He knocked my attacker to the ground and lifted his clenched fist into the air, preparing to punch them all the way to Canada, by the looks of it.

"Derek, no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't stop him for my aunts' sake. It was for his, after all his hard work on temper since the one time when someone threatened Simon; I didn't want him to waste it on a two-faced liar like my aunt Lauren.

He paused, turning to me in disbelief, and it was all the gap I needed.

"Please".

So quickly that I didn't see him move, he was back to my side, arms wrapped around my waste, glaring, and his eyes a harsh black.

"Thank you, Chloe."

"I didn't do anything for you, Lauren". I glared at her. She flinched. Good. I was tired of her traitorous acts. If she really thought I would forgive her again, she was completely wrong. There is a boundary between deeds that can and cannot be forgiven, and trying to kill Derek most definitely crossed that line.

Derek stared at me in surprise, as if anger wasn't really my thing, so to put it. I smiled at him, a reassuring gesture.

Kissing my forehead, he then whispered in my ear; "If you change your mind, I will happily destroy her". I laughed, and turning my head, caught Laurens disgusted expression. What a bitch.

But before I could comment, a shout came from a few meters back, possibly behind a tree, though I couldn't really see.

"Did you get him, Lauren? The mutt."

"No" her reply was a high pitched squeal, but I wasn't about to feel sorry for her.

"Who did you get? You get the blonde?" He sounded worried, like it was his head in the noose if she had failed completely.

"Yes, I got Chloe. You gonna come out and help?"

He stepped forward, a man of around 40, thickset, with an ugly smirk of the kind that is so easy to despise. I didn't recognise him, and for some reason, he was holding a camera in one hand, dragging Simon with the other.

He stalked over to us, as if we were no more a threat than three legged puppies. Yeah, we were kids, but Derek could snap his neck in less than a second. And Lauren clearly knew it, as her hand reached out towards him, but she stopped herself before she reached him. Smart move.

I thought he had walked out to gloat, and he had, sort of. He placed a photograph in front of us, and then retreated, Simon still in hand. When neither me of Derek moved, he glared, like we weren't playing his game.

"Look at the picture, mutt. What do you think the tabloids will see?"

Derek picked it up, a question mark on his face. After a moment he shifted, anger yet again taking over.

"You don't rip that up, okay, mutt. I'll just print another. Show it to the freak."

That was all it took. Just an implication of harm from a photo, and the word freak, that pushed Derek right over the edge. He leapt up, changing form as the jumped, something I didn't think he could do. It was probably the anger that did it.

In one swift move, he had wrenched the guy off of the ground, and thrown him into a nearby tree. And I didn't stop him. What was wrong with me? He would hate himself afterwards, I knew that for a fact. So why didn't I stop him.

Maybe I wanted a guy dead? I gasped. Somehow Simons shouting, that was rather deafening, hadn't stopped him, but one tiny action did, for he turned to face me, face solemn, even as a wolf.

And I could only think of one thing to say.

"Derek, I'm so sorry."


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

And I kept repeating those few words, over and over, as tears started to run tracks down my face, though I fought to stop them, my hands brushing my face uselessly. And the scene was like a penultimate scene of a horror film, members of the Edison group losing their cover and running for the hills, quite literally.

Simon was backing up, trying to look completely nonchalant, and failing, for though he looked normal to me, he was only background, and his expression had upset Derek. Most of my attention was focused on Derek, as he looked hurt, confused and angry, calming down, preparing to change back. But when he saw Simon, he froze, and looked so lost that I was sure that if I wasn't crying already, it would have been a time to start. The expression was 100 times worse than when Andrew looked scared, maybe even 200. It was depressing to watch.

I covered the ground between us in four hopefully confident looking strides, but it seemed to make him more nervous. He shook his head, and scampered into a bush. And the reversal seemed to be as sudden and easy as the transformation, as less than a minute later, he was back in human form, or so I guessed, as it appeared that wolves couldn't cuss their way to hell, and if it was most definitely possible for someone 10 miles away in a coma to hear you, then Derek would have most definitely achieved it.

Simon chose that moment to snap out of it then, and turned his head towards the bush.

"Hey bro, you okay?"

"Stupid question" was something I couldn't help but mutter, though my tone was slightly marred by my incessant crying. Unpredictably, a low rumble of a laugh came from the general direction of Derek.

"This is going to sound really stupid, but three guesses why I'm swearing?"

That was weird. I thought having killed someone, it would be pretty obvious. Simon took a guess anyway, going straight for the answer that would be first to cross anyones mind.

"Ummm, because I'm starting to smell rotting flesh?"

Dereks laugh in response seemed to be more than a little forced, but at least it was there. That was a good sign.

"Guys, considering what just happened, this shouldn't be the first thing on my mind, but has any of my clothes survived?" I looked around, and couldn't help but let out a somewhat hysterical laugh.

"You have half a sneaker, a one armed shirt, and what looks like it could have possibly been jeans." I reeled off, smiling in spite of myself. More cussing and Simon turned to a backpack that he had slung over one arm.

"Hey bro, I've got some of your clothes in my bag. You have sweatpants, and a hoodie. I know you hate dressing like a stereo-typical chav, but it takes up less space." He pulled both items from his bag and chucked them across to where he estimated Derek to be.

"Thanks. Hey, why do you have my stuff in your bag?" Derek seemed uncertain; like he wasn't sure he wanted to know the reply.

"Simple. I set an intruder spell especially for them a mile around where I was. When it went off, I put all of our money, and the clothes that took up the least space for all of us." He sounded rather proud of himself, probably thinking that this classed as a worthy cause for redemption.

Derek stepped forward, his face much less relaxed than his tone had been, and I was sure that it wasn't because he was dressed like a chav. And I ran up to him, arms clamped around his neck.

"Are you okay?" I couldn't help but ask, though it was obvious that he wasn't.

"Been better. I'm so confused. Simon, how did you end up here? Chloe, why aren't you running away from me? I killed a man. One we didn't even know, couldn't have just been shoved into the group. Don't you care?" He sounded really worried, and pissed off, probably because he wasn't used to not knowing precisely what was going on – he was meant to be the smart one, making up for the rest of us having pea-sized or 'blond' brains.

"Derek, I only care about YOU. Yes, you killed someone, but you also saved all of our lives. You killed one man – if anyone in the Edison group can be called a man- but he really asked for it. I know you didn't want to kill him. I would only be freaked if it had been a premeditated murder. You understand? Okay?" My words flowed really fast, so fast that I was surprised he heard any of it.

"Really?" His voice had suddenly changed rather dramatically, making him sound about 3 feet shorter, mentally younger and very vulnerable.

"Yes."

"Hey, how's your arm? We're going to have to get that fixed up. Can you move it?"

Sudden change of topic, probably as a defence for himself. Something I understood- he was meant to be a big tough werewolf, not a frightened kid.

"Since I have both arms around your neck and I'm not collapsed in pain, I figure that I'll live." In a second he had turned into intellectual doctor Derek.

He was still worried though. Not that he got a chance to say anything else.

"We can take her to Arizona State. Remember Regrof? We can get some ID off of him, then find a hospital, then find a very cheap, run down motel." The way Simon had said it made me feel like there was an invisible 'simples' hanging in the air around him.

I was about to question this Regrof guy, but Derek seemed to trust him, as his eyes had lit up.

"Great!!!!!" There was no sarcasm in his voice. "We can trust him Chloe; he's an illegal, generally distrusted guy."

And I finished the words for him. "Just like we are now"

"Basically, yeah."

The question was how to get there.

Author's notes

UPDATED IN THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER!

Sorry you lovely people who were asking when I was gonna update and telling me to update quicker. I HEART/LOVE Y'ALL!

XD XP


	11. Chapter 11

THE RECKONING. Hey guys this isn't another chapter. I looked back at this the other day and decided that it was pointless to continue when the actual book was out and that is clearly going to influence anything else I write, really strongly. I was also only writing to try to pass the time until the next instalment came out , AND I HAVE TOREAD IT rather than write my version. Hey, you never know, I might tryto tack another bit onto the end of that since it's a trilogy and I nothing else to look forward to from it thanks for the support dudes...and dudettes.


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